Police Name Four Suspects in Quran Memorisation Challenge with Alcohol Prize Case
Police have named four individuals as suspects in a case involving a challenge to memorise verses of the Quran with a prize of alcoholic beverages, which took place during The Sounds Project music festival at Eco Park Ancol, North Jakarta. The four suspects have been officially charged with blasphemy.
Director of General Criminal Investigation at Polda Metro Jaya, Senior Commissioner Iman Imanuddin, confirmed the four suspects have the initials RES, AK, I, and M. Two of the suspects have been officially arrested and detained.
“Based on the series of investigations and the evidence obtained, investigators have named four suspects. Suspects RES and AK were arrested on Wednesday (12/8) and detained for 20 days at the Polda Metro Jaya detention centre starting today,” Iman said in Jakarta on Thursday (13/8).
The case is being handled by the State Security Sub-directorate of the Polda Metro Jaya Criminal Investigation Directorate after receiving five public reports on Tuesday (11/8). The act of religious desecration itself occurred on Sunday (9/8) at around 10:30 p.m. local time at one of the event booths.
According to the initial investigation, the suspects had different roles in the action that triggered public outcry. Suspect RES acted as the host guiding the interaction in front of the booth. Suspects I and AK challenged festival-goers to recite Surah Al-Ikhlas and Surah Ad-Dhuha with the promise of a bottle of alcoholic drink as a reward. Suspect M recited Surah Ad-Dhuha using a loudspeaker in front of the visitors.
“Investigators have secured evidence in the form of five flash disks containing digital video recordings, as well as the clothing worn by suspects RES and AK during the incident,” Iman stated.
Investigators have examined the five complainants as well as witnesses from the Ancol area management, the event organiser, and eyewitnesses at the scene. As the case develops, police are also scheduling examinations of the alcoholic beverage producer and the festival organiser.
The investigation involves expert witnesses in digital forensics, linguistics, criminal law, alcohol content testing, as well as religious experts from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
For their actions, the suspects are charged under Article 300 and/or Article 301 of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code, as amended by Law Number 1 of 2026.
Separately, Polda Metro Jaya Head of Public Relations, Senior Commissioner Budi Hermanto, appealed to the public not to aggravate the situation by re-circulating provocative video content of the incident on social media.
“Trust the handling of this case to the police, and let us work together to maintain harmony, mutual respect, and a safe and conducive public order situation,” Budi concluded.